Keeping the Clock Running
by SkyBlue-Dreamer
Summary: Mysterious attacks seem determined to wipe Shadow out, until he meets an orphan boy who is somehow stuck with him... Then it gets much worse.
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is kinda AU-ish... Also, a new title is welcome, just PM me!

" " speaking.

_**~ ~ thoughts.**_

Something was after Shadow and he knew it wasn't coincidence. He knew because this wasn't the first time. Things had tried to kill continuously for the past month. A reckless driver, misinformed officers that somehow thought he was the culprit, elusive snipers that vanished into thin air, and now this: grotesque monsters that leapt upon him. They were almost twice as tall as him and walked on all fours. Their panther-like bodies were covered in a hard, blackened material. Parts if the 'skin' bubbled orange-red something like lava which burned and dripped down their sides. They had razor sharp teeth and claws, and their spade-like tails aided their balance. All in all: They were a pain to fight. Especially in the snow. 'Isn't snow the best place to fight them?' you ask? The answer: nope. The best place would be around perfect blue, cool water. Not this damn snow! Here's a lesson for all of you out there: snow is a white, fluffy menace. It not only slows you down, but you as well. Every inch of their bodies protected them from the cold, it seemed, while the biggest protection Shadow had was his chest hair.

Damn! He needed to end this soon! Every time he got close his body would burn from the intense heat and every time he out some distance between them, the cold seeped into him. It was putting his body into shock. He grimaced as a creature grazed his right shoulder; there were already many cuts all over his body (and a particularly nasty gash in his lower left leg). He grit his teeth in annoyance ~_**Damn it! Of all the times NOT to have a Chaos Emerald! Why'd there have to be so many of them?~**_. He had taken care of about 26 of those monsters already, but was getting pretty worn down and was getting progressively weaker with every blow. It didn't help that the last 6 were much smarter than their defeated brethren.

There was only one thing for it then: retreat. With a quick burst from his rocket-skates Shadow shot into the snow-covered foliage on his right, ignoring the light sprinkling of snow he received from the disturbed forest canopy. The creatures were right behind him, however; relentlessly pursuing with bounding leaps and melting the snow wherever their feet landed. Shadow shot past the tree line and skid to a halt, snow spraying forward and over the edge of the cliff he had narrowly avoided falling over. You could see the bottom, but it was still quite a ways down which meant that it wasn't worth the risk (with Shadow injured as he is). Whipping around he noticed another problem: He was cut off as the creatures had caught up and now surrounded him; their hunches bunched up as they prepared to pounce. There was only one chance left…

"What are you waiting for?" Shadow growled in irritation, his deep voice causing them to snarl. Then they leapt; teeth bared and claws stretched forward to impale their prey… And released several confused yips as their target vanished and they collided with each other and flew over the cliff edge. Shadow allowed himself a small chuckle as he landed a few feet away from the edge; he had jumped at the last second. Thankfully their poor eyesight (which he had discovered while fighting them; seeing them sometimes scratch one another) had prevented them from seeing each other plan to pounce. As well as the cliff edge which awaited them.

Peering over the edge he saw 5 of the creatures shakily get up, jarred from the landing. One of them held it's front right foot up (obviously injured), but otherwise had only minor injuries. The one which didn't get up had cracked it's head open against one of the snowless rocks at the cliff bottom. Shadow frowned ~_**Why won't these things just DIE already?~**_. He then turned and sped into the woods. Hopefully they wouldn't follow him.

* * *

Shadow didn't know how long he'd been walking, but he hoped it wouldn't be for much longer. The snowfall had become heavier and was turning into a blizzard, obscuring his vision and making his wounds sting. He was weary and the longer he stayed out in the cold, the more his body had the chance to get Frostbite. He had busted one of his skates when a hidden rock had entered his path; so now he slowly trudged through the snow. Today just wasn't his day. Shadow's gaze eventually drifted towards his feet, due to tiredness and the lack of wanting to trip again.

He kept walking until… "Hey!". Shadow blearily looked up and to his astonishment saw golden eyes staring at him. They belonged to a young, white hedgehog boy, whose long quills stuck up like a cockatoo's in the front and curved downwards at the back. He wore tattered white rider gloves, worn black trainers and an odd lime-green headband. Recovering against his astonishment, Shadow sent a glare at the boy, "What do you want?". The boy looked uncertain and then hesitantly took a step forward. Shadow scowled ~_**Maybe this kid doesn't understand English…**_.~ The boy took another step forward. And another. And another… Until he was standing right in front of the ebony (with red streaks) hedgehog and gold eyes locked onto red eyes. Then the boy spoke up, "You're good, right?" he said taking Shadow's least injured hand gently, "I'll help you.". Shadow blinked as he was wordlessly led in the direction the boy had come from.

**AN: To Silver fans out there: Don't worry it's not all about Shadow, I just needed some way to introduce Silver (Besides I love SilverShadow brotherly!). To Shadow fans: Shadow still plays an important part. R + R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN****: I'd like to give a big thanks to ****ShadowxHuntress and Teribane****! Hope you like this chapter too! But seriously: I had A LOT of visitors, EVEN MORE hits and… 3 review. Now I'm no genius, but that isn't right. I don't mind criticism (no matter how harsh it is) as long as it's criticism and not a flame. Flames will be ignored. This chapter is slightly edited thanks to Teribane's adivice, hope I followed it correctly! The content hasn't changed though.**

Shadow groaned as antiseptic was applied to the last of his wounds. A matronly chocolate brown fox was currently treating his wounds in one of the rooms of the orphanage. The orphanage that the kid had led him to. He'd been surprised to say the least, when the vixen (who was now treating him) had met them at the door, instantly brought them inside, sat Shadow down (still numb from the cold) and hastily whipped out the first aid kit.

"There you go, dear." The teal-eyed vixen said, standing up and packing away the antiseptic and bandages.

Shadow cringed as the word 'dear' was applied to him _**~What the hell?~**_ and growled, "Don't call me 'dear'.", an unspoken threat lacing his voice. Then in a softer (but still quite harsh) voice he added, "Where is this place anyway?".

"My, my. Right to the point are we?" she said with a smile, "Well, this is an orphanage about 25km away from the nearest town. I'm Leila and the sole caretaker for the children here.".

As if on cue Shadow spotted several curious faces peering over the edge of the worn doorway. Shadow, deciding that he didn't want to deal with an audience, turned towards them with a hard glare which sent them screaming and shrieking from the doorway. Leila frowned in distaste and placed her hands on her hips, fully prepared lecture the stranger who had appeared out of nowhere (no matter how scary he was) on why he shouldn't scare young children.

She just opened her mouth to lecture when something practically flew into the room, clutching a steaming mug in it's hands. Shadow reacted instinctively, instantly on his feet and into a fighting position, the purple woolen blanket that had been used to warm him up sliding off his shoulders and onto the floor. A second later he relaxed his stance; it was just that kid who brought him here in the first place.

"What is it? What happened?" the kid asked worriedly, looking for all the world like he might throw the mug at anything deemed 'dangerous'. Leila laughed in good humour at the sight, forgetting about her lecture. The boy's muzzle turned red as he blushed, "I…I heard screaming so I…came to… help.", the boy's voice quietened and he gazed ashamedly at the mug he had planned to use as a makeshift weapon.

At that moment Shadow and the boy were thinking the exact same thing: _**~What could he do in a fight?~**_. Besides a mug was a poor weapon choice.

Leila finally stopped laughing and gazed down at the little hedgie, a soft smile tugging at the corners of her lips, "Oh, that was just your… friend here.", she said apologetically.

The kid, recovering from his humiliation, turned to Shadow with a frown on his face and something like… hurt… in his golden eyes. He spoke, voice almost pleading, "Why did you scare them?".

Shadow blinked, taken aback by the odd and unsuspected question. However he still answered smoothly, "They were bothering me.".

The boy's golden orbs grew wide and he worriedly took a step back, "But… I-I thought you were good!".

Shadow rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his furry chest, "Runt, the world isn't black and white: There are shades of grey.", he began walking towards the kid slowly, "Good people sometimes do bad things, and bad people sometimes do good things.". He neared the boy, "Yes, there are truly evil people out there…", he bent down and peered into the boy's liquid gold eyes with his own fiery crimson ones, "But… there is not a _damn _chance in hell that I am one of them!".

The boy blinked, stunned at the conviction in Shadow's voice, "…Sir?".

"Name's Shadow." The ebony hedgehog interjected, displeased at the concept at being called being called 'sir' or 'mister'.

"Well, Shadow…" the boy said with a friendly smile, "My name's Silver. But…".

"What now?" Shadow asked, straightening to his full height.

The boy pushed the mug into Shadow's gloved hands, "If there are truly evil people, then there are truly good people as well!". Shadow, unknowing on how to answer the question simply stared down at the cream mug full of brown liquid in his hands. Silver smiled up at him, "Hope you like hot chocolate!".

* * *

Shadow sank into the folds of a cushy armchair, as he clasped the steaming drink Silver had given him in both of his hands. Speaking of Silver: he was perched on the armrest, eyes wide, staring at him in shock. Shadow took a sip of his hot chocolate and rolled his eyes, "Kid, you'd better stop staring at me.". Silver came out of his shock and almost fell off of the chair.

After steadying himself Silver once again looked at Shadow with a look of wonder and bewilderment, "You've NEVER tasted hot chocolate?"

"Never."

"You sure?"

"That's right."

"100% sure?"

"Yes! Now drop it, runt!" Shadow growled in irritation, now fed up with the 'hot chocolate interrogation'.

Silver took on a meek appearance as he looked downwards, "I'm sorry. I- I didn't know …", he flattened his ears, "I didn't know you were deprived…".

Leila, almost forgotten in her own cushy chair on the opposite side of the room, burst out in soft laughter which somehow caught the attention of the two. Feeling childish under their gaze, she then politely excused herself to prepare dinner with a final "Your friend can have some food as well, Silver.". That defused a potential bomb as both hedgehogs simultaneously forgot about the 'deprived' comment.

Silver then turned to Shadow, "Can I ask you a question?".

"No." Shadow deadpanned, fingering the smooth texture of the cream mug in his hands.

"Aww… Pleeeeaaaase…" Silver pleaded, leaning towards Shadow slightly.

Shadow gave the kid a hard stare, "No way in hell.".

"Come on Shadow!" Silver begged, "Just one- ".

"Hey kid, where's your headband?" Shadow hastily asked; not interested in the slightest, but not wanting to answer any of the kid's questions.

"Oh… that." Silver stated softly, caught off guard by Shadow's sudden question. He then pointed to where the lime-green headband used to be, "I hate wearing that thing, but Leila always makes me wear it whenever I go out into the snow.", he complained. "Otherwise she can't find me.", he added as an afterthought, a thoughtful expression on his face. Shadow shook his head: if that faker Sonic was he, he'd probably make some lame joke about Silver being a walking, talking snowman. Amy would probably think it would be cute to see little Silver in the snow, blinking innocently as a snowflake fell onto the tip of his nose.

Shadow was brought out of his musings by the younger hedgehog visibly perking up and proclaiming: "Now I get to ask you a question!". Shadow's frown deepened, _**~Damn loopholes!~**_, and he eyed the boy suspiciously, his usual paranoid side taking over. Silver not noticing the older hedgehog's look (or perhaps ignoring it) pressed on heedlessly, "Why were you in the forest?".

Taking a stroll." Shadow replied sarcastically and finishing the last of his drink.

Silver raised an eyebrow, "Seriously Shadow.".

Shadow sighed, obviously this kid wasn't going to leave it alone, "I was looking for… something…". Silver's mouth become a little 'o' as his curiosity was instantly piqued. Shadow gave the kid a stern glare and wondered why he was putting up with the kid anyway, "And I'm NOT telling you what it is!". Silver instantly reeled back, shock evident on his face. Shadow got up and put the now-empty mug on a plain wooden coffee table, uncaringly avoiding the purple flower-patterned coasters. He then flexed the stiffness out of his joints, his ears twitching slightly as he heard the sounds of a spoon scraping the bottom of a bowl _**~Hopefully I'll be able to leave this annoying place soon.~**_.

Silver cautiously walked around Shadow (who kept a suspicious eye on him) until he was facing the larger hedgehog. Silver gazed up at Shadow, an indescribable look on his face, "It's that important, huh?".

Shadow sighed, becoming ever closer to his tolerance level, "Too important to simply tell some kid. Especially one like you." he growled, walking past the smaller white hedgehog and towards where he had heard the bowl scraping noise come from.

Silver stood still, deep in thought, while Shadow headed towards the dining room. He closed his eyes, to help his thought process along. "Really important?" he whispered to himself, as if clutching a secret to his chest. "Maybe I know what he's looking for…" he said opening his brilliant gold eyes and heading off to find the older hedgehog.

**AN****:** **Sorry about the massive amount of *nothing* that happens in this chapter… Please forgive me! The next chapter will be a lot more exciting I promise! Please review, as it's my source of happiness!**


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Sorry this is so late! Had MASSIVE writer's block (got rid of it thanks to another story of mine I typed up). Anyway, I'd like to thank all my beloved reviewers: Teribane, Swiftfire97, , and CharmedPluto. This chapter is dedicated to you guys!

To answer CharmedPluto's question: I've never played or seen Sonic '06, but I heard there were fire creatures in the game. So I took that information and made up a creature… So it's really just a coincidence. And Iblian Basalisks? I think that's a cool name!

~ Chapter 3 ~

No one knew the woods like Silver did. That was because the other orphans never cared enough. Not like Silver cared, anyway. As soon as enough of the struggling rays of the morning sun forced their way through the streaky window that took up a space on the dusty wall of his bedroom, the small hedgehog would wake, smiling up at the warmth that started to heat up the tiny room. The orphan caretaker, Ms Leila, would find herself blinking in surprise as a small white furry, who had yet to eat any of the morning oatmeal she had habitually prepared, enthusiastically launch himself into the woods nearby the house. The only time this part had ever changed was when the snow began to coat the world in winter; Silver had to put his green headband on.

It was one such time, when the young hedgie was practically skipping through the uninhabited forest that something caused him to veer off course. He froze, the tip of his nose twitching slightly, and glanced off the path he normally took through the trees. A smile broke over the small boy's face as whispers of excitement and adventure tickled the back of his head. Scooping up a handful of snow, Silver playful trod his new route, head whipping around as he took in new sights, each just as breath-taking as the last. A frozen stream, a flower barely hanging on in the dead of winter and even animal footprints in the snow made his heart soar. He never knew why he loved such insignificant sights; no one else could explain it.

Just like no one could explain who he was.

He had just been found one day, wandering adrift in waist deep snow, half frozen from the cold he had almost no protection from. He didn't know his name. He didn't know what the white stuff around him was. He just knew he was lost. All he had was a crumpled up note. A note he couldn't read. Leila had had to read it to the tiny hedgie. He remembered as the motherly fox pulled him close and hugged him as he was sitting by the fireplace. She told the young hedgie that the note said that his name was Silver.

The small boy suddenly stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide as he beheld the sight before him. An obsidian podium, lined with glowing sky-blue 'veins', stood atop a giant (at least to the small furry) marble dais. The dais had strange etchings and ruins covering it's surface, while a strange 'bubble' whose surface seemed contain rolling, soundless crackles of crimson lightning surrounded. Upon the podium lay a large smooth, polished shard of a crystal-clear gem, about the size and shape of a small dagger. The shard shared it's prized spot of the podium with a silver object the size and shape of a miniscule alarm clock, but without the 'bell' additions. This object also had a black cord which meant that the object could be put around one's neck. The mechanism looked like it hadn't aged a day since the day it was made. It also drew Silver in…

Tentatively stretching his gloved hands in front of him, the young boy inched his way towards the foreboding shield that covered the dais, keeping it covered from the snowflakes. Ignoring the overwhelming fear building up in his chest the furry carried on in his direct path until his ungloved-fingertips brushed the edge of the lightning dome… Silver's golden eyes widened as he felt a tingle in his fingers and a great thunder broke through the air. He swivelled his ears backwards and flat against his skull and jumped backwards into a pile of snow, his heat hammering in his chest like a jack-hammer. To his amazement the shield shimmered and seemed to 'melt' right in front of him, flowing to the floor and disappearing. Swallowing hard, Silver brushed the snow off of his fur and slowly made his way onto the dais. Upon stepping onto the platform, the boy froze, eyes shut tight and his breath held. Waiting for something utterly disastrous to happen…

When nothing happened, Silver cautiously opened his eyes and shakily released a sigh of relief, a great amount of tension leaving the hedgie's body. After regaining his courage, Silver balled his hands into fists and approached the podium. His nose twitching he reached up and gently picked up the small silver object, holding it up in front of his curious golden eyes.

The object looked like a small clock, but only had one hand. It also didn't have any numbers, just thin gilded lines in place of where the hours would normally be. The young boy cocked his head to the side, ears flicking in confusion at the small object. After looking over it for a few minutes Silver just shrugged his shoulder and hung the object around his neck. The boy giggled as his mane caused it to feel quite weird.

Silver suddenly froze, the laughter dying in his throat and his gaze shot to the podium again, scared of Indiana Jones-like repercussions raining down on him. Realizing that if anything was going to happen, it would have happened already, he sighed in relief, his breath creating a small puff of visible warm air.

He looked at the gem again, noting how it seemed to shine but in a strangely soft way. It also didn't seem sharp, he noted as he leaned forward to get a closer look at the object. He carefully touched it with his uncovered fingers, and quietly gasped in surprise. The jewel didn't have a temperature; not its own in any case. Silver slowly curled his fingers around the object, pushing the flat of his palm against it in the process. With a deep, shuddering breath he lifted it off the pedestal.

The young hedgie was suddenly hit with a wave of dizziness, the world around him melting way…

He blinked as the world came into focus around him. Heavy snowfall whirled around his small form, the beginning of a blizzard, and his eyes widened. He was no longer in the forest near the orphanage where he found the dais. Instead he was in a part of the woods he rarely visited. Shivering at the violent drop in temperature he tucked his head in closer to his mane and looked around. He gasped as he saw an obsidian hedgehog many years older than himself trudging through the snow, looking like he had been in a major fight and was about ready to drop. The other hadn't noticed him yet, but Silver was certain that he had no idea where he was going because he was heading in a direction where he wouldn't come across shelter for hours. The young boy began to run towards the older hedgehog, determined to help him…

And found himself back at the dais, blinking in confusion.

"Did I… see the future?" the boy asked himself, clutching the gem tightly in his hands.

"Whoever he was, I'm sure he was in trouble." He murmured to himself, "And… I don't know why, but he seems like a good guy to me…"

The ticking of the non-clock clock brought him out of his thoughts as he realised that he was missing out on breakfast. He turned on his heels, brain still whirling with questions, and tore out of the clearing, making his way back to the orphanage.

Silver didn't know why, but it somehow didn't surprise him when he found the black hedgehog stumbling through the woods the next week.

AN: Yeah, Silver's so naïve. Sorry this chapter doesn't say too much, but hey at least it's an update! Yeah obviously this takes place a week before the first chapter. Also I hope I've managed to keep Silver in character (it's really odd that this story focuses on him [and Shadow], because I've never actually watched/played anything where his character was explained). I hope my grammar's up to scratch (though thanks to Teribane's advice it's much better than it would've been… Thanks again!). Reviews are food for my soul. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'M ALIVE! Sorry for the… one year hiatus? My gosh, I suck. I might not be forgiven for that (and I wouldn't blame anyone), but I will start to update again.**

**Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers, SpikyNecromancer17, CharmedPluto, roseal, The Final Conduit, SonirbyLovS, and Mission' Shadow Support. You all rule!**

**Also thanks to procrastinatorAT for faving (much appreciated).**

**SpikyNecromancer17: As far as I've planned, yes, Blaze will be in it.**

**CharmedPluto: Thanks for the complement ^.^**

**roseal: I agree completely. Then again, I'm probably biased.**

**The Final Conduit: Hope this doesn't disappoint.**

**SonirbyLovS: ...I have no idea what your review is supposed to mean O.o**

**Mission' Shadow Support: Thanks for the complement; it makes me feel warm inside.**

**Chapter 4**

The food was very bland but warm and filled Shadow's stomach, it's consistently rough. He nodded, wordlessly expressing his thanks for the food and stood up, intent on leaving.

"You leaving already? The blizzard's barely stopped." Ms Leila, the matronly fox looked up with a worrying expression, folding her arms on her lap in a gesture of concern.

Shadow nodded, "Yeah, I'd better get going. I still have something to do." To be honest, he hated the way she continuously treated him like one of her wards even though being so easily accepted by total strangers was completely new to him. Besides he still had to get the chaos emerald before anything bad happened (like one of those grotesque lava-like monsters ate it for dinner).

"Wait!" Silver jumped up from his spot at the table, abandoning his half-eaten food in his hurry, and ran over to the older hedgehog, "You can't leave yet!" he pleaded, eyes wide with surprise.

Shadow rolled his eyes and directed a soft glare at the annoying kid, "I can and I will." And with that he easily moved past the pale child and into the entrance room.

"But I have something to show you." Silver doggedly followed him and moved to block him, "It might be what you're looking for." He persistently gave the ebony hedgehog a 'please' look.

Shadow barely suppressed the urge to growl at him and folded his arms instead, "If it's not a chaos emerald, I'm not interested."

Silver cocked his head to the side, confusion evident in his golden eyes, "… chaos emerald? I think it might be one… depending on what a chaos emerald is."

Shadow's ruby red eyes widened, "Wait, YOU might have the chaos emerald… and why don't you know what one is?". Chaos Emeralds were common knowledge now, with everyone and their granny knowing what one was.

Silver blushed slightly, "Well, I've never heard of a chaos emerald before." He admitted, ears flattened in a submissive manner, "But I did find this special gem in the forest."

Although the young hedgehog obviously wasn't sure, the fact he said it was a special gem and that he had found it in the forest granted it enough believability to have a look.

"Alright." Shadow relented with a sigh, "Take me to it."

The boy instantly perked up and eagerly led him to a small room, taken up almost completely by the raggedy bed inside it. It was bare aside from some gloves hanging up on the wall. Added to that, the room had no form of security at all (though to be honest, who would expect a bare orphan's room to possess a chaos emerald?). Silver grabbed his lumpy pillow and threw it to the bottom of his bed, revealing two strange objects. The first was what the boy had obviously erroneously thought was called a chaos emerald, which was in fact a small, smooth gem the size and roughly the shape of a small dagger which had a soft and gentle glow. The second was a silver clock with only one hand and no indicators of time aside from thin gilded lines, which was connected to a black piece of string.

Disregarding the silver clock, Shadow carefully picked up the jewel, noting that it strangely had no temperature where the chaos emeralds were warm to the touch and carefully looked it over. It wasn't sharp at all, in direct contrast to how it looked and actually weighed less than it should have by all rights. Although seemingly expertly cut, it gave the feeling of being incomplete, a part of something else. Shadow closed his eyes and focused on trying to draw power from the gem in a similar manner to how he would from a chaos emerald only to be unable to all it; making it clear that it wasn't simply a corrupted emerald or even a fake one.

Opening his eyes again, he was greeted by the sight of an anxious-looking Silver whose eyes had widened in anticipation, "… it's not a chaos emerald." Shadow stated with a roll of his eyes.

"It's not?" Silver frowned, "But it's definitely special, right?" he added with some hope.

The older hedgehog nodded, "Yeah, but I have no idea what it is. You said you found it in the forest?"

The child nodded, "Yeah, on this weird dais along with this clock." He picked up the odd clock and motioned to it, holding it carefully in his palm.

"Maybe Tails or Knuckles will know more. After I've found the chaos emerald, I'll come back." The dark hedgehog gently tossed the jewel to Silver who caught it easily, "Keep this safe in the meantime."

The kid smiled even though he wasn't really sure what Shadow was talking about, "Alright, Shadow. Count on me." And with that, he placed the clock around his neck, its weight nestling in his fluffy mane, and put the jewel back along with its pillow cover.

To be honest, Shadow didn't really expect him to protect anything, but at least this way the hedgie wouldn't lose it. It wasn't as if anything was after it or anything and so was perfectly safe in hiding at this orphanage.

"With that aside, I'll be leaving." Shadow turned and made his way out the door, not bothering with words of farewell since he didn't really know this boy. Not that he would actually bother with a lengthy goodbye even with people he knew well.

The worst of the blizzard was over and had almost died out completely, but the cold still bit at the dark hedgehog's skin causing him to give an almost noticeable shudder as he stepped outside the orphanage, the door creaking closed behind him. He slowly walked until the frosty trees obscured the view of the building completely before he stopped and reached out his senses, seeking the warm hum of energy that was unique to a chaos emerald. Sensing a faint throb in the distant north-west, Shadow began to move, keeping the general location firmly in mind.

Glancing down at his wrist-communicator, he was glad to note it still seemed like it worked although the signal was pretty poor. The snow littering the forest was thick and made it hard for Shadow to get up to a decent speed because it kept messing up his rocket boots and spraying up in his face.

He was completely sick of the place when he ran into a clearing and stopped dead. Two of the lava monsters from before turned and hissed at them, displaying large, sharp and blackened teeth as they hunched down, intent on taking him down.

Really, today was not Shadow's day.

Keeping what momentum he had gained, he continued to rush forward and leapt up at the last second, effectively managing to land a fearsome kick in the first monster's face sending it flying from the sheer force and power of the blow. While the first flew backwards into a nearby tree with a sickening crack, the second monster pounced as Shadow landed from his kick. Barely managing to roll out of the way, Shadow quickly got to his feet again and backed away, raising his fists in an offensive manner. Luckily, the monster wasn't very smart and decided to roar instead of continuing the attack, the sound a mix between a big cat's roar and the sound of boiling water. The hedgehog darted forward, the sudden motion causing a stir in the air, jumped into the air, and stomped hard on the creature's snout. The monster's head made a crunching noise as it collided with the snow covered ground, its jaw cracking as it was momentarily stunned. Not wasting any time as the blow had been softened by the ground being covered with a healthy layer of snow, Shadow lifted a fist and slammed his fist down on the creature's head, feeling satisfied when a very audible crack was heard. Slowly removing his fist from the crushed skull of the creature and grimacing at the slight scorch marks on his white glove, he glanced at the first creature which had been thrown into a tree and was glad to note that it wasn't moving.

Deciding not to wait around in case any more of the creatures were around, Shadow quickly started towards where he had sensed the emerald. It was getting dark and he really couldn't afford to waste any time.

As he ran, his thoughts moved to the lava monsters that had appeared in the forest. Such monsters had no right being there in that forest, especially with the heavy snow that lined it. There was nothing remarkable about this forest; in fact, the only reason one of the chaos emeralds was here was because the seven had been separated and scattered across the world. No noteworthy events had happened here as far as Shadow knew and he couldn't even entertain the idea that the creatures had anything to do with the orphanage. The fact it was cold and had snowed recently made the monsters appearance even more baffling as one would think there'd be a much higher chance of discovering them in a volcano than in a cold environment. He'd have to ask G.U.N. abut it.

Really, this whole mission was becoming far more trouble than it was worth.

Unfortunately it wasn't long before he came across even more of the creatures, this time a group of four. "Just great." Shadow growled, ramming into one, and cringing at the intense heat of the creature. The first flew backwards into the second, sending them both flying into some nearby rocks with a thud. The third and fourth were smart however and chose this time to attack, lashing out with greedy jaws. Shadow stumbled backwards, barely dodging the third but the fourth managed to clamp its powerful jaws on his arm. Giving a yell of pain from the burning sensation, he quickly proceeded to punch it rapidly, bruising his fists. It let go and collapsed, its head caved it just as the third lunged for a bite. Rolling out of the way in time, Shadow leapt up and jumped onto its back, slamming it down onto the ground. Reacting quickly he grabbed a horn-like protrusion on its snout and pulled hard, hearing a satisfied snap. He turned to see one of the first monsters getting up from where it had been dazed on the rocks, the other unmoving. Growling in frustration, the hedgehog threw the body of the third creature at it with some force. The creature didn't dodge in time and was slammed into, being crushed.

He looked down at his forearm, noticing the bad burn from the bite he had failed to dodge and scowled; these creatures weren't to be taken lightly. He was about to move on when the creatures started to flare up one by one, their flames intensifying and spreading out to consume their entire bodies before suddenly dying out leaving only ashes behind. Great, so they didn't leave bodies behind, how annoying. It just made the whole situation a bigger pain since it meant getting a sample for G.U.N. to analyse was practically impossible.

It was dark by the time Shadow picked up the yellow chaos emerald and he was slightly tired with some notable scratches and burn marks. He had come across more of the monsters on the way (which he had come to call "Biters"), some in even greater number. Clicking his communicator on, Shadow reported success of his mission and requested that he be picked up the following morning before ending the communication.

Turning back, he started towards the orphanage, recalling the strange jewel that kid, Silver, had shown him. He knew from experience that it wasn't wise to leave something like that alone. He didn't dally and went at a moderately fast speed, the prefect mix between speed and conservation of energy.

He was almost there when he saw a sudden increase in monsters, like the biters were conjugating somewhere…

With a sinking feeling deep in his gut, Shadow increased his pace, choosing to dodge most of the monsters (their soft red glow made them easy to spot, and hence, avoid) to keep his momentum, wanting to get to the orphanage as quickly as possible.

Scorched and slightly burned, Shadow increased his pace even more when the smell of smoke tickled his nose and sped out of the forest only to see the building on fire, with at least a dozen biters swarming the place.

With a fearsome roar, Shadow began firing chaos spear after chaos spear at the monsters even as they leapt upon him, biting and clawing. He ignored the pain from his burns and the weariness of his body, feeling only his rage building inside of him, expelling it by lashing out that the nightmarish creatures around him. He dodged bites by mere millimetres, striking back with powerful punches and kicks and impaling, while being progressively being weighed down by his exhaustion.

But he was Shadow the Hedgehog, damn it! He couldn't lose here.

Panting heavily as the last of the creatures outside the place was brought down, his shoulders shuddering; Shadow forced himself to enter the building. Pain was irrelevant; he had a mission to do.

The orphanage was half-collapsed and still contained a few stray biters. Taking care of them with quick and precise blows, he carefully moved through the orphanage, a hand held over his mouth to prevent him from inhaling too much smoke. Desperately, his ruby eyes sought out survivors, as he moved upstairs. He entered the childrens' room and quickly destroyed the few biters there before looking around the room properly.

He gagged as he saw the bodies, faces distorted in pain and eyes cold and devoid of life, most of their bodies badly burned. Some had their internal organs showing, displayed by gruesome holes in them. Looking at the defeated biters closer, he noted fresh blood and bits of charred flesh and felt sick. Most of the kids had died from grievous wounds but a rare few seemed to have died from breathing in too much smoke.

The matronly fox was there too, one of the victims that had been chosen as a meal, her face one of pure horror, fear and pain, her eyes unseeing.

He was about to leave the horrific scene when a faint glow caught his eyes. Turning slowly, his eyes widened as he saw a child he had previously overlooked, the strange jewel tightly clenched in his hand. Silver's eyes were closed and deep numerous scratch marks lay on his back, bleeding heavily.

Hesitating, Shadow carefully moved over and bent down to gently remove the gem when a slight movement made itself known.

The child was still breathing; Silver was still alive.

**A/N: Shadow calls the lava monsters 'Biters', but he hasn't really given their names much thought. Others probably will.**

**Wow, this is my longest chapter so far which hopefully will work towards making up for my long absence. My new term of college gives me enough free time to continue my stories so I will begin updating this again (every 2-4 weeks give or take). Please review; constructive criticism is welcomed but flames will be used to power the lava monsters.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: A special thanks to RobinsonSibling, ShinyShiny and Kira-writer for their awesome reviews. Also, a thank you to RobinsonSibling and we are as one for the fave. Seriously, you guys are awesome! Hope you all enjoy this chapter! ^.^**

**Chapter 5**

They were all screaming in high shrieks of agony as the very flesh of their bodies burned up in the raging inferno. The tormented cries of people he had known for years and had grown close to as a family, as they flailed their arms wildly, their eyeballs drying up and shrivelling. The intense heat was stifling and overbearing, the thick smell of fire, smoke and destruction making Silver gag, his stomach twisting. Desperate to save everything, the young hedgie stomped at the fire, his small feet barely making an impact, hoping to stop the horror around him. Instead, however, the flames simply spread, devilishly licking at everything in the room even as the house began to cave it, unable to bear the attack. His friends- no, his family- were screaming beside him… they were dying for the flames were an enemy that would not die; a foe he was unable to even try to fight. Chocking on the thick smoke filling the room, Silver could only think of one thing to do: he had to get everyone out!

That was when a searing pain slashed itself across his back, sending him flying across the room into the weakened wall. Silver cried out as the pain intensified as his body overcame the shock and rubble from his impact on the wall rained down on him, bruising his already raw injuries. His couldn't focus on anything properly, his head spinning and dizzy as he found himself unable to raise himself from the floor. Struggling profusely, he managed to turn his head the slightest amount, his cheek scratching itself on a jagged piece of wood from a collapsed part of the ceiling. His heart almost stopped as his eyes widened in fear as he saw several monsters appearing out of the inferno, their blackened jaws opened wide. Most of his friends weren't moving, their burned bodies prone and still on the floor, while others froze seeing the savage creatures advance like wolves upon helpless prey.

Silver opened his mouth to scream for them to run, a small, shaking hand reaching out in desperation, but only a chocked sob came out as the monsters suddenly pounced, their pronounced jaws ripping into them as their claws tore into the soft flesh. The young hedgie quickly shut his eyes as the screams intensified tenfold, the sounds harsh and unforgiving to his ears. He felt sick and angry and sad and scared, tears evaporating practically instantly from the pure heat of the flames.

The flames were taking away everything; his home, his friends, and they wouldn't even let him cry.

Cracking his sore eyes open, he desperately willed his body to move, the agonizing pain in his back spiking once more. All he could see were the flames and he could only manage to move was a small twitch in his right hand, feeling the warm, smooth outline of the gem Shadow had told him to safeguard. His vision was getting blurrier and the faint ticking of the clock around his neck seemed to grow louder with every progressing tick, audible despite the roar of the fire…

Suddenly he was floating above a huge city alit with fire, the flames consuming everything in their path. Horrified he watched as the fire tore down people's homes as the townspeople screamed, unable to outrun the hungry inferno. Fathers and mothers, children and grandparents fells as the sky turned a dark grey, thick with smoke and the smell of burning flesh. Trees and grass went up like great bonfires as the small lake in the park dried up and filled with the soft and menacing glow of lava. Helpless to do anything, Silver found he couldn't move as legions of monsters erupted from the fire or burst from the ground, immediately preying upon the terrified people.

"No, no, NO!" Silver screamed, finding himself turning in mid-air towards the centre of the city…

A huge colossus of a monster towered above the skyscrapers, sending huge meteorites down upon the land. Its very skin rippled with the lava it seemed to be created out of, the liquid spilling out from around him and forming a red sea. Its shape was vaguely humanoid but it had no mercy or fear, just an insatiable hunger for destruction. Then it turned its gaze upon him, its eyes twin pits of fire as a dark cackle resounded in his head, "You are no hero!"

Silver screamed and bolted upright, his heart pounding like a jackhammer as his entire body shook like a relief from unsuppressed fear. In the back of his head he recognized the sounds of yelling and movement, but he all he could see were his family burning in front of him. All he could feel was how scared he was, how helpless…

He whimpered in pain as a sudden pressure appeared on his back, with two long warm things around him, preventing him from bolting. The pain had brought him out of the memories still fresh in his mind though, and he slowly became aware of a deep voice talking softly nearby. There was also some soft fur which his head was gently pressed against, the feeling soothing and calming. As Silver's heartbeat began to slow down, he relaxed more into the hold as the tension began to leave him. His ears which had previously been flattened against his skull, swivelled back to their original position although the voice had stopped talking by now. That was okay though because he could hear a heartbeat, distant and faint. It was fine; because he wasn't alone. Not everyone was gone…

Silver didn't know how long he lay there, resting against the soft fur with the comforting arms around him, but it felt like an eternity had passed before he deigned to open his eyes. Shifting slowly, Silver noticed the soft white fur he had lain against was attached to a dark, toned chest that belonged to an older hedgehog. Looking up higher, he noticed the man's lip were in an almost impassive frown while his ruby eyes seemed to hold a concealed worry. Feeling he should know this person, the young hedgie blinked, noting the crimson streaks adorning his quills.

"… Feeling better now?" the hedgehog asked, his deep voice familiar as he gently moved Silver away from him onto a soft, yielding surface which turned out to be a very plain bed.

The boy nodded, giving him a small smile, "Yeah… thanks, Shadow." Glancing around, Silver noted the bare surroundings as unfamiliar and more spacious than his room back at the orhapanage…

Feeling a sudden stab of sorrow, Silver looked back up at Shadow and opened his mouth, memories flashing through his head, "…"

When only a choked up noise came from the young hedgehog, Shadow let out a sigh, raking a hand through his dark quills, "I'm sorry. They're… gone…"

Silver nodded and bit his lip, feeling tears well up in the corners of his eyes, "I… c-couldn't-"

"Now stop that." Shadow scolded, "You were badly dehydrated so don't go wasting your tears with pointless crying." With that he wiped away the hedgie's tears with a gentleness that belied his words.

"I-I'm sorry." Silver fidgeted, turning his gaze towards the floor. A thought suddenly occurred to him and he suddenly jumped, "The gem! Did you get it?" he quickly looked at the older hedgehog with a panicked expression.

Shadow allowed a slight smile to creep across his face, "Yes, I got it." With that he gently ruffled the child's head quills, eliciting a giggle from the boy.

"I'm so glad." Silver smiled, his mood changing for the better, "And the clock?"

"Got that too." Shadow nodded, retracting his hand, "It was best you didn't sleep with it on."

Silver nodded in understanding; he had heard Ms Leila scolding Katie many times for sleeping with her lanyard on. Why she had a lanyard or why she kept insisting on sleeping with it was anybody's guess though.

Shadow got up from his seat on the edge of the bed, stretching the stiffness accumulated from holding Silver out of his joints, "This is my apartment. You can stay here… for now."

"Just for now?" Silver asked, ears lowering in dejection; he had a feeling from the start that Shadow was a good person and overnight he had become someone he trusted (not that Silver found it hard to trust). In all honesty, he had hoped that the dark hedgehog would take him in even if only briefly.

"Yes, just for now." Shadow turned and left the room, "Stay in bed."

Silver didn't know it, but he had been unconscious for over three days, most of which had been spent in Shadow's one and only bed. Shadow had been told that after their pickup outside the orphanage, G.U.N. troops had been deployed in the forest and had taken down the remaining monstrosities. However they had been unable to obtain a sample for study. The strange gem had been taken to both Rouge and Tails but neither could tell him what it was or had even seen anything similar to it before. After placing an order for a pizza delivery, he moved to the bathroom and began running a bath. As he watched the water slowly fill the tub, he thought back on the jewel: the biters had only appeared in the forest where the gem had been found. And they had attacked the orphanage unprovoked, so maybe they were drawn to the gem somehow. It could be a coincidence, but Shadow never liked taking chances.

Stopping the flow of water, Shadow moved back to the bedroom where Silver was beginning to doze off, "Come with me."

Jerking awake, Silver blushed when he realized that he had been falling asleep after waking up not even twenty minutes ago, "O-okay." He jumped off the bed and followed him back to the bathroom, "… this isn't what it looks like, right?" he asked hopefully, eyeing the water with a distrustful look while making a face.

"It's a tub of water. What else would it look like?" Shadow rolled his eyes.  
"No, I meant- Hey!" Silver yelped as the ebony hedgehog grabbed him by the back of his mane and lowered him into the water, "OW!"

Shadow moved his grip from the mane to his shoulders, preventing the scrambling boy from escaping the bath. Frowning as some of the water splashed out of the bath.

"But Shadow it STINGS!" Silver complained, wincing at the renewed pain in his back; while not nearly as strong as when he got it, it was still strong.

"Stay still." Shadow growled, his patience wearing thin, "I know it hurts but you need a bath. Now stop complaining or I'll bath you for you!"

Silver quietened, instantly stilling at the mild threat. He could tell instantly that Shadow was not going to be gentle! "Okay, I'll bath." He meekly muttered, eyes lowered submissively.

Shadow nodded, "Good. There's a towel over there when you're finished." Gesturing to a black, rolled up towel by the sink, he let go of the boy's shoulders. "Take your time. I mean it." He warned, giving Silver a final glance before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Shadow sighed as he waited for the pizza to arrive, thinking on the injuries the young hedgie had obtained in the attack. It was strange that he hadn't been burnt nearly as much as one would think, almost as if his fur had built up a strange resistance against fire. Not only that, but according to the doctor he had look Silver over, despite inhaling a large amount of smoke it had caused no long-term effects aside from a state of unconsciousness. The prominent claw mark that had been on the child's back was also healing well and there looked to be the minimal amount of scarring despite the fierce heat that had been applied to it during the blow. In all honesty, his well-being was quite miraculous and should have taken much longer to heal than it did.

Despite this, Shadow could not bring himself to believe Silver was connected to the biters or the attack on the orphanage. No matter how suspicious it looked to his higher ups at G.U.N. or anyone else for that matter, he firmly believed that the young hedgie was had nothing to do with it. How could anyone suspect him with eyes as hopeful and innocent as his?

Hearing the bell ring, signalling the arrival of pizza, Shadow shook his head. Really thoughts like those weren't good for him. Next thing you know he was going to be as sappy as Sonic…

Shadow flinched at the thought.

**A/N: Did you know that last chapter was my first ever attempt at action? And now this chapter has my first attempt at writing out a nightmare… I really hope it didn't suck.**

**For all those who are still reading this story: thank you, it really means a lot. ^.^**

**Reviews make the nightmares go away while flames will be used to toast my bread.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Another chapter up, and just before I missed my deadline (2-4 week deadline too), so hazzuhs all around! As usual I'd like to specially thank RobinsonSiblings, ShinyShiny9, Kira-writer, SpikyNecromancer17 and CharmedPluto for their wonderful reviews as well as Diamond the Cat, Kira-writer, spd243, Tails1213, Invader honniemay and Pandora Malum for faving. Seriously, you guys are the best ever!**

**Chapter 6**

Shadow had a very nice apartment despite its small size. The furniture was sleek and smooth and it possessed state-of-the-art appliances, designed for relaxation and leisure.

However, it soon became apparent that it was actually a ticking time-bomb when Silver was introduced to the 'habitat'.

Standing on his tippy-toes, the small pale hedgie curiously peaked at a strange machine. It was small, shiny and had a black mug situated near the bottom. Silver leant forward and sniffed it, wrinkling his nose at the faint bitter smell; it smelt similar to how the kitchen at the orphanage smelt in the early morning. Reaching his hand out he pressed a button and heard the machine hiss and some lights flash on. He jumped back in surprise, his hackles raising and growling back at it, showing his canines. A shot of steam escaped the machine as liquid suddenly poured into the mug, filling it to the brim. Moving over to the machine again, he leant forward and tentively sniffed the concoction, "It smells bitter and strong" he frowned. Milk sometimes made things tasted better, so he pressed another button and the machine hissed, putting a thin layer of froth over the liquid.

'_Weird bubbles? That's not milk!'_ Silver thought, pressing another random button and causing the machine to spit out a thick layer of cream which naturally spilt over the mug's rim. "Oops." Silver's ears swivelled back in guilt as he saw the mess he had made.

"What did you do now?" a deep voice sighed from the entrance to the kitchen causing the little hedgie to jump in surprise.

"Shadow!" Silver exclaimed as he turned, seeing the dark hedgehog leaning against the kitchen doorframe with his arms folded and an eyebrow raised, "W-well I… I was just looking around and I saw this weird hissing machine. It made this strong-smelling brown liquid and then this froth and this cream which spilt and… I'm sorry." He ducked his head and twiddled with his fingers, feeling his cheeks burn in embarrassment, "I'll clean it up."

Shadow nodded, pushing himself off the doorframe and moving over to Silver, "That you will. Besides I told you not to touch anything" sighing, he picked up the youth by the scruff of his mane.

"H-hey!" the white hedgehog squirmed in his grip as he took him back to the living room.

"First off, that's a coffee machine-" he began to explain.

"What's coffee?" Silver cocked his head, his eyes looking up at the older man curiously, cutting him off.

"…" Shadow exhaled deeply, "Coffee is a warm beverage that often keeps you awake.

The boy nodded then looked sad, "So you have coffee here and not hot chocolate? That must be horrible!" Shadow opened his mouth but Silver interrupted again, hopping off the couch, "I know! Instead of that bitter coffee stuff, I'll make you hot chocolate! Then you won't be deprived anymore!" full of excitement, he disappeared into the kitchen again with a bright smile.

"I'm NOT deprived." The ebony hedgehog muttered, massaging his temples as he reluctantly followed the child into the kitchen. Stopping Silver from adding any hot chocolate (which he had specifically bought soon after Silver was able to move around again… not because he was soft mind you, it just made it easier) to a mug, he pointed to the coffee machine, "Clean that up, remember?"

Silver smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, Shadow." He then went over and began to clean up the cream and coffee which had spilt over.

Honestly, Shadow preferred some nice strong coffee over the soft, sweet taste of hot chocolate but he knew bringing it up would be a bad idea. The last thing he needed was to waste time talking about which was better and why.

"After you're done, put on your shoes and socks; we're going out." Shadow told him, not bothering to wait for a response before going to put his own shoes and socks on, as well as his gloves. He didn't really want to take the kid along, but he feared leaving him alone would result in a major catastrophe… like somehow taking out the whole building with a microwave…

"Okay." After cleaning up the mess, Silver poured the coffee down the drain then went to pull on his shoes as quickly as he could. He hadn't left the apartment before, mostly because he had still been recovering, but he had looked out the windows before. Tall buildings reached up to the sky while an interconnected web of roads spread out over the ground. Cars and motorbikes (which Shadow had told him about) constantly travelled to and fro, organised by red, yellow and green lights and signs. Hundreds if not thousands of mobians meshed down below, the variety mind-boggling; everything from hedgehogs to cats to lizards to insects all going around, doing their own thing. Silver had loved to watch the people, but now maybe he would meet some of them too! Unable to wipe the wide grin off his face, he caught up to Shadow at the front door, "Ready."

Simply nodding in response, the obsidian hedgehog opened the door and ushered the younger hedgehog out into the hallway.

Looking around while Shadow locked the door behind him, he saw that the hallway was full of doors just like Shadows, "Whoa, so many doors just like yours… Does that mean they all have the same apartment as you?"

Shaking his head, Shadow began to lead down the passage, "More or less." Stopping by an elevator he pressed a button and waited for the doors. Pinging open he walked in and tugged Silver in behind him when he was hesitant to follow.

"Um, what are we doing in such a small room? There's nothing in here but a bunch of buttons next to the door?" Silver cocked his head, golden eyes full of confusion.

Shadow pressed a button marked 'SB 1' and the doors slid shut, "You'll see."

The elevator lurched down causing Silver to wobble, "What was that?"

The doors opened, revealing a large 'room' filled with cars and the occasional motorcycle; first floor for parking and known as sub-basement 1 (the building had three floors of parking and this was the highest one).

Silver's mouth dropped as he followed Shadow out of the lift, eyes as wide as saucers, "We… we teleported?" he gaped, in awe of his new surroundings.

"No. No we did not teleport. It's an elevator; it moves up and down. We just went to a lower floor." Although explaining the many things Silver didn't know was tedious, seeing his amazement at simple things almost made it worth it. Especially when he saw Silver blush in embarrassment at thinking that the lift could teleport.

He made his way over to a sleek black motorcycle with crimson accents and moved it out, "Now I want you to get on and hold on to me, tight. I don't want you falling off." That said, he slung he leg over and hopped on the bike, waiting for Silver to do the same. Soon enough, he felt the hedgie clamber up behind him and wrap his arms around him as best as he could in a somewhat lax grip.

Shadow rolled his eyes, "I said tightly."

Nodding when he felt the grip tighten enough to be satisfied, he started the engine and kicked the stand up, smiling as the motorcycle began to take them towards the ramp up to the street. After exiting onto the street and out into the bright light of day, Shadow put more speed into the ride, expertly weaving between the harsh city traffic as he made his way out of the city. By the time they left the city behind them and started driving deeper into the desert, he could already feel Silver's firm grip had changed to a death grip. Probably had to something to do with how he was yelling in terror earlier.

The desert wasn't very interesting and they made their way without anything interesting happening until black shapes materialized in the distance by the entrance to a largely intact ruin. Speeding towards them and skidding to a stop by the shapes, Shadow nodded his head at the closest GUN officer. The soldiers were dressed similarly to SWAT team members and the black vans around them were conspicuous to say the least.

"Thanks for coming," The officer saluted, lowering his gun, "We've discovered a strange apparatus inside with some sort of energy field that prevents any sort of contact. Also, more of the Prowlers have appeared but we don't know where they're coming from."

Shadow hopped off his bike, eliciting a gasp of surprise from Silver as he still hadn't let go and was dragged with him. Blushing bright red, Silver found his feet and managed to let go of the older hedgehog's waist, "Sorry."

Shadow shook his head and turned back to the officer who had been looking at the scene with mild confusion, "Prowlers? What are Prowlers?"

The soldier's gaze returned from Silver to Shadow, "The panther-like flame monsters that appeared in the orphanage incident."

'_Oh, he means Biters. Suddenly leaving the kid at home seems like the smarter choice.'_ Shadow thought, frowning, "Let's not waste any time then. Take me to it. Silver, stay close."

The boy nodded and followed close behind as the officer led them into the ruin.

The ruin was dusty and dotted with fallen pillars and faded illegible carvings but Shadow and the officer ignored it as they went deeper into the dim light of the ruin. Passing through several chambers and twisting passages, they emerged into a wider carven-like room that was far wider and emptier than any other room before it.

Shadow made their way over to the opposite side where a few other officers, each clutching a gun, waited. Silver however, lagged behind, slowly following as he took in the scenery, occasionally spinning around as his eyes roved around taking everything in.

Shadow greeted the other four officers with an indifferent nod, looking past them at a strange apparatus which seemed to be covered with some sort of energy field, "Is that the device?"

The officer that had led him there nodded, "That's it. We can't identify the energy either."

Shadow raised an eyebrow, "Why are you the only ones here?"

He shifted, subconsciously tilting his gun higher than its lowered position, "Many of the creatures attack almost regularly; several of our men haven't made it out."

Shadow nodded and made his way up the steps to the apparatus, "Then you guard the entrance."

The officers nodded and moved to cover the three entrances while Shadow regarded the sphere with cautious curiosity, "The energy… it's not chaos energy at all… in fact, it's energy I don't recognise at all." Reaching out a gloved hand, he allowed his fingertips to brush the edge of the field, instantly jerking it back as the energy rejected him, shooting it off the surface with a jolt.

He heard quick footsteps make their way over and turned to see Silver had joined him, looking surprised, "Cool." The young hedgie reached forward and Shadow grabbed his wrist, his fingers barely centimetres away.

"Don't touch that. It's dangerous." Shadow warned, releasing his grip, "We don't know what that is."

Silver smiled, "No, it's okay. I've seen this before."

The older hedgehog's eyes widened in surprise, "You've what?"

The child smiled again, "I'll show you." Before Shadow could comprehend, Silver reached over and touched the energy field, however unlike what happened with his own hand, the field didn't reject Silver and instead seemed to melt away revealing a small oblong jewel with the same colour and glow as the gem Silver had shown him at the orphanage.

"That's…" Shadow breathed out, noting that this jewel also looked rough around the edges almost like they were both just pieces of the same jewel.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Silver beamed before reaching over and picking the jewel up, its energy brightening and changing into a sky blue, its energy rippling through the young hedgie.

Silver felt his hand and feet burn as though a red-hot poker was etching lines through them and he felt his mind calm and numb, the scene before him blurring until it changed completely…

"Silver!"

**A/N: I'm going to have to take Silver's side on this as I prefer hot chocolate over coffee myself as well.**

**I hope you're all enjoying the story so far! ^.^**

**Flames will be used to dry my socks.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Special thanks to my wonderful reviewers, Pandora Mao Malum, RobinsonSiblings, ShinyShiny9, Kira-writer, CharmedPluto, DeLuna The Cat & NutCase5.**

**Also thanks to DeLuna The Cat for faving as well as extra special thanks to RobinsonSiblings (again XD) because you are just awesome!**

**I'm terribly sorry this update was so late, but I was suddenly incredibly swamped with work. Luckily I should be able to return to regular updating now.**

**Hope you all enjoy the chapter. ^.^**

**Chapter 7**

Silver breathed out and wiped at his eyes, wincing slightly as a small fleck of ash rubbed against the corner of his eye. Looking around revealed a desolate wasteland of fire, smoke and ruined buildings with no signs of life, friendly or otherwise. Blinking his irritated eyes a couple of times he returned his attention to a small mound of rubble which had been tossed together in a heap of half melted metal and broken pieces of cement and buildings. Calmly he stretched out his right hand, his glove much cleaner than his fur which now looked a light grey instead of its natural white; a side effect of the constant fire and smoke which pervaded the city for as long as he could remember.

Concentrating on a small square-ish piece of cement he sent out a small jolt of psychokinetic energy, gently lifting it into the air with a practised ease, its form engulfed by a soft blue aura mimicking his own which was prominent by the markings clear by his arms and legs. Smiling, he extended his control and lifted up the other objects in the heap first one by one and then all at once, levitating them around in random patterns in the air.

"Having fun, Silver?" A voice from behind him laughed causing him to turn abruptly to face his sudden company.

A lavender cat stood a short distance away from him with her arms folded and an obviously amused smile on her face, her golden eyes glinting with humour.

Silver beamed and released his hold on the rubble, letting it fall unceremoniously onto the floor, "Blaze, it's good to see you. I was just practising."

"I see." She walked over, "Well I'm glad you're relaxing for a change."

The hedgehog's ears flicked and he frowned, "I'm not relaxing, I'm practising. I have to be ready for whenever he appears."

Blaze sighed, "I know Silver and we WILL be ready for him the next time he shows… Especially with you practising so diligently." She smiled warmly.

"I hope so." Silver sighed before he blinked and rubbed his again. He blinked again, cocking his head and swivelling his ears to face forward fully, "Who are you?"

Blaze's eyebrows raised as her eyes widened, "What do you mean?" she turned on her heel, golden eyes scanning for any other signs of life but saw only the smouldering rubble adorning the landscape.

The world blurred suddenly and the confused hedgehog shook his head in an attempt to try to clear it. The black and red blur he was sure was a hedgehog looked almost familiar, "One of Iblis' tricks?"

No, Iblis was stupid… at least he thought he was. Then again, what was Iblis? Another Mobian? A monster maybe? Suddenly trying to recall common knowledge was like grasping at straws. Who was Blaze again? A friend or just someone he knew?

Silver clutched his head as it began to throb, "I don't…" he couldn't remember anything.

They were talking; both Blaze and the dark hedgehog but they were both saying the same thing, "Silver!"

He snapped his eyes open just as a wave of light blue psychokinetic energy rippled out, tossing both Shadow and the guards as well as causing great cracks in the walls from the sheer pressure of the exertion.

He was back in the temple with the people clad in black and the dais and he fell to his knees with a wince. His head didn't hurt anymore but he was no closer to understanding what had happened or guess why he suddenly felt so weary.

There was a moment of pure confusion and shock with only the ticking of the clock around his neck breaking the silence which had perforated the area.

Shadow picked himself up, dusting himself off and making his way over to Silver cautiously, "… You okay?" he examined the young hedgie warily, noting with surprise the light blue markings glowing by his hands and feet. The pale kid look exhausted and his expression betrayed his confusion clearly.

He had grabbed the child when he touched the gem and had seen strange sip bits of images and sounds like a video which had parts liberally cut from it then smooshed together to form one mostly incomprehensible file. Most of what he had gleaned were nonsensical but a few things had stood out to him; especially the lavender cat he had seen.

His ear twitched as he heard the sound of guns being cocked and looked sharply up, scowling at the G.U.N. officers who had gotten to their feet and were now levelling their guns at Silver, obviously regarding him as a potential threat, "Knock it off." He growled, showing his canines at the men who hesitantly lowered their weapons.

He turned back to the white hedgehog who was shakily scrambling to his feet, "I… I'm fine, Shadow, but can we go home?" Silver asked, his soft golden eyes looking up at the older hedgehog with a inaudible plea; he was tired and confused and something about that weird vision was scary and sad to him.

"Fine." Shadow sighed, nudging the boy, "Get moving then." He doubled back and tentatively picked up the gem, internally relived when he wasn't pulled into a vision.

"Take cover!" An officer shouted, drawing his attention at the same time he caught a whiff of what smelt like lava or brimstone, causing him to whip around in alarm.

Several of the biters- or the prowlers as G.U.N. had deemed them- were attacking the agents, leaving scorch marks on the ground. Shadow rolled quickly to avoid a couple of them as they lunged with blackened, unsheathed claws hearing them hiss as they instead collided with the dais with it breaking and collapsing on top of them with a loud crack.

He heard the officers open fire but he igorned it, focusing on the creatures nearest him, leaping up into the air and slamming down on top of the closest with the heels of his shoes and hearing a satisfying crack as it was pushed down from the sheer power and momentum of his strike.

Ears swivelling to keep for being caught from behind, Shadow drew power from the chaos emerald he had picked up from the incident at the orphanage and struck a few more of the creatures with chaos energy which ripped through them, "Chaos spear!"

"Ah!" He heard Silver yelp somewhere near the other side of the room, his surprise barely audible over the commotion and the slight echoing of the battle that cascaded all around them.

Feeling his fur stand on end, Shadow changed his stance, recklessly dropping his defensive advantage and took off towards where he had last seen a glimpse of Silver. A prowler swiped at him as soon as he had taken his eyes off of it, leaving smouldering claw marks on the side of his muzzle and forcing him off of his feet and causing him to slam into the ground with a pained hiss.

His heart pounding in his ears and his sense sharpening unbidden, the ebony hedgehog rolled as soon as he hit the floor, wincing as dust was blown into the fresh wound from his quick movement. All that ran through his mind was the realization that he had to get up to his feet and the fact that the young hedgie was scared and helpless.

Roaring in rage, he used his elbows as leverage and launched himself up and landing a solid roundhouse kick at the nearest one, the child's terrified voice making him see red.

"No! No! NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!"Silver screamed, backpedalling until he felt cold, worn stone hit his back. Golden eyes wide as he trembled violently, watching several prowlers surround him in a semi-circle, blackened teeth bared as they closed on him with ferocious growls and fiery hackles raised. He raised his hands in a futile attempt to ward them off, "Go away! GO! AWAY!"

His head pounded as his heart sped up as the distance between them closed… These were the monsters who took away his home… these were the ones who had attacked his family…

Suddenly he could smell the burning building around him and heard the screaming as the smoke made his pounding head swim as the fire spread all around. He was the only one left but the fangs and the heat of the flames was threatening to snuff him out, but his hands were shaking and he was so scared.

He saw them leap up at him and time seemed to slow down; suddenly he saw himself in the middle of a world of ruins and fire with thousands of the lava creatures descending upon him in swarms, everyone else… gone.

And that thought terrified him more than anything, "I won't let you!" Silver screamed, just as time snapped back to its usual flow, power surging from his mind through his palms, and a light blue energy erupting from them and blasting the creatures back, causing them to fly over and across the room, hitting the walls with a clear, audible crack.

Heart still hammering he threw him palms out again and blasted more creatures away, somehow picking them up and tossing them with his mind as far away as he could.

Again and again, he tossed them until he finally couldn't lift his arms anymore and collapsed to his knees, his vision blurring; completely exhausted. He began to tip over to the side but he was caught and supported by what felt like two gloved hands.

"Sha…dow?.." Silver murmured, his eyes already sliding closed as he struggled to stay conscious.

"Yes?" He heard the older hedgehog reply, his voice close by and the support shifted, as his body was lifted up and held against something soft and fluffy; most likely Shadow's chest.

Silver nuzzled the dark mobian as the last strands of his consciousness slipped away, "I don't want to be alone."

**A/N: A little shorter than my usual chapters but I couldn't end it properly if I lengthened it, so I hope you like it anyway.**

**Flames will be used to destroy all lingering 'work' that pesters me during the holiday.**

**And thanks to everyone who has been sticking through despite the wait in updating.**


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